UW Punishes Bears with Pair of Returns, Lets Offense Finish Them Off

The Huskies post their fourth blowout in as many outings.

This one was pretty much over before Michael Penix Jr.  and his high-powered University of Washington offense even stepped on the football field.

On Saturday night, the eighth-ranked Huskies turned to an opportunistic defense and dazzling special teams to get things rolling against the California Bears, posting a pair of instant touchdowns with the game barely five minutes old, and then coasted to a 59-32 victory.

That's four games for this explosive UW team this season and four blowouts — with 40 or more points scored each time out. The Huskies (4-0) just went for a different approach in their final Pac-12 opener. They were much greedier, putting up a school-record-tying 45 on the scoreboard by halftime.

Two minutes and 23 seconds into this matchup,  linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio brought the Husky Stadium crowd to its feet and made an ESPN audience take notice when he intercepted a Ben Finley pass in the right flat, bobbled it momentarily before tucking it under his arm and raced 45 yards for a touchdown. It was Ulofoshio's first career pass theft.

Forcing a Cal punt on the next series, Odunze picked one off the ground, broke a tackle, made punter Lachlan Wilson look silly on a cutback and was escorted up the left sideline by fellow receiver Ja'Lynn Polk for an electric 83-yard scoring runback. It was Odunze's first UW return for points.

These two back-breaking plays turned the Golden Bears (2-2) into Gummy Bears. In no time, the visitors were real wobbly. 

"You can feel the energy when we run out onto the field, the excitement that something special is going to happen," UW coach Kalen DeBoer said, "and it becomes contagious."

Ulofoshio's interception return for six points was the first for the Huskies since the 2018 Pac-12 championship game, when cornerback Byron Murphy raced 66 yards to score against Utah.

Odunze's punt runback was the first for the UW since 2019, when Aaron Fuller zipped 88 yards to the end zone at BYU. 

Edefuan Ulofoshio pushes his way past Cal quarterback Ben Finley on the way to a 45-yard interception return for a score.  :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Meantime, Penix and his offensive guys had to cool their heels and watch everyone play on without them. They didn't get a snap in until nine minutes and 14 seconds had come off the clock.

"It was crazy," Penix said. "I'm not complaining. I'm always itching to get out there, but when the defense is making plays and the special teams are making plays, I'm excited. I was jumping up and down. I was definitely ready."

Of course, he and his guys were eager to get going and proceeded to score on five of their six first-half possessions. The only misfire came when Penix threw his second interception of the season, with Cal's Lu-Magia Hearns III winning a jump ball with Polk for the ball.

Penix actually played less than half of the game, showing up late and leaving early near the end of the third quarter. He completed a workmanlike 19 of 25 passes for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Polk and Odunze gave the UW its fourth set of 100-yard receivers in a game in as many tries. Polk caught 8 balls for 127 yards and 2 scores, while Odunze latched onto 5 passes for 125 yards for 2 TDs, 3 altogether counting his return.

"I was in the mindset of making a play and when you're in that mindset going out there, good things happen," Odunze said of punt runback. "I know I made a move on the punter. After that it, it just seemed like I was running into the end zone."

After the Huskies spotted Jeremiah Hunter's 7-yard touchdown catch for Cal, Penix directed the 73 yards in 7 plays to shake off the cobwebs. He found Polk with a pinpoint delivery in the right corner of the end zone a few steps behind cornerback Jeremiah Earby. With 2:19 left in the opening quarter, the UW offense had made its first contribution of the night and upped the score to 21-6.

Now it was time for more defense. Finley, under a heavy rush from UW linebacker Carson Bruener, looked like he tried to throw one away but Husky safety Dom Hampton intercepted it on the sideline at the Cal 27. It was the senior's first career pass theft in six seasons.

The home team settled for a Grady Gross field goal from 41 yards out, the longest of his brief career, and the UW led 24-6 when the quarter ended.

Michael Penix Jr. enjoys himself with tight end Devin Culp (83), receiver Ja'Lynn Polk (2) and Geirean Hatchett (56) :: Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

Following a punt, the Huskies moved 75 yards in 5 plays in a Michigan State hurry-up style, with Odunze catching a 44-yard pass to eat up most of the yardage and Mississippi State transfer Dillon Johnson finishing off the drive with a 3-yard scoring run. Johnson led all rushers with 66 yards on 10 tries.

The UW momentarily turned charitable for an old friend, giving up a 24-yard touchdown pass to former Husky wide receiver Taj Davis, who beat reserve corner Jaivion Green to the ball.

OK, this Montlake team did Cal another favor when Penix threw the ball  to Hearns, but this generosity was good for just a play. On the next snap, Oklahoma State transfer Jabbar Muhammad ran step for step with his receiver and became the third guy to intercept Finley and he returned the ball 44 yards to to the Cal 48.

Muhammad's pass theft was his first as a Husky and his team's seventh of the season, matching the UW total for all of 2022.

Six plays later, Polk had his second TD catch, hauling in a 24-yard dart from Penix and beating Cal's Earby once more. With 4:08 remaining in the half, the Huskies led 38-12. They were far from done.

Following another Bears punt and with a minute and a half left until intermission, Penix hustled the UW down the field for another score. These guys just don't take plays off. He needed just 48 seconds to split a pair of defenders with a 35-yard scoring pass to Odunze. Everyone took a break with the Huskies ahead 45-12.

Odunze and Polk might have had more opportunities than normal because their third wheel, Jalen McMillan, got hurt at Michigan State and wasn't in uniform. McMillan was spotted on the sideline wearing a purple coat with a white towel draped over his shoulder. He's expected back next week.

More residue from the Michigan State game, starting offensive guard Julius Buelow likewise didn't play after coming up lame in East Lansing. He was seen wearing a walking boot. on his right foot.

Germie Bernard and Geirean Hatchett, both sophomores, made their first Husky starts in place of McMillan and Buelow, respectively. Obviously, no drop-off in the Husky offensive machine was detected.

In the second half, the Huskies took the opening kickoff and went 68 yards in 7 plays for Odunze's third touchdown of the evening, this one coming on a 13-yard pass from Penix and it was 52-12.

With 7:08 left to play in the game, and the second-team UW offense in since the end of the third quarter, Sam Adams scored from 9 yards out and the UW went up 59-25.

"It isn't just one side of the ball coming of the locker room ready to go start the game," DeBoer said. "It's every single guy."

The Huskies now turn their attention to a trip to the desert next weekend to face Arizona, a 21-20 winner over Stanford. Again, Penix and his offensive friends should be well rested and ready to play more.

 

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